The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition

A biography of John Woolman (1720–72), an eighteenth-century Quaker whose abolitionist work and spiritual practice influenced generations of Americans. Though not a politician, general, or public official, Woolman was a humble tailor in New Jersey who became a prophetic voice in the Anglo-American world. He denounced slavery in Quaker meetings, essays, and his Journal, first published in 1774. Thomas P. Slaughter's biography examines the sources of Woolman's political and spiritual influence beyond his published texts. Woolman practiced extreme self-purification—wearing only white, refusing to ride horses or carriages—and preached against slavery, rum, tea, silver, forced labor, war taxes, and consumerism. His message carried persuasive power through a benign confidence that ordinary people could achieve spiritual perfection. Placing Woolman within the context of his era, Slaughter presents a portrait of a figure admired by Quakers, social reformers, labor organizers, socialists, and peace advocates. Woolman is portrayed as an extraordinary original whose influence extended across American history.